Apparatus for treating grain, &amp;c.



W. ROTSTED.

`APPARATUS FOR TRATING GRAIN, c. APPLICATION HLED JUNE 1o. 191B.

1,399,797. Patented Dec. 13, 1921.-

` 2 SHEETS- SHEET lf ggnuungl 4R10/ l l l 25 w. ROISTED. vAPPARATUS FOR TREATING GRAIN, Gac.

APPLICATION FILED .IUNE I0, I9I'8.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- To all whom t may' concewt:

. UNITEDSTTES WILLIAM nors'mnn, or CHICAGO, ILIINoIs@ f APrAItAT's ron TnnATINGjGnAINyac.

Be it known thatI, WILLIAM RoTs'rnD', a

citizen of the United States, residing atk Chicago,in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Apparatusffor Treating Grain, &c., of which thefollowing is a specication.

Myrinvention relates to; improvements inl apparatus for drying, heating, or otherwise treating grain,'fruits, vegetables, or: other products which may be'V handled in bulk form. 'The invention,although capable of many different applications," will be foundy particularly suitable in connection with the germination of grains, the drying of` grains, and for evaporating the moisture out of suitably prepared fruits and vegetables.

The object ofthe-invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive', and" efficient apparatus of the character described-in which the treatment of the material may be effected rapidly and l economically, with a ment 'of my invention as applied 'to' the" drying of small grainsvFigure 1 is a verticalsectionthrough the apparatus; f

Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryperspective viewy of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; f

Fig. Bis .a sectional plan, view of the apparatus shown in Fig., 1; and

. F ig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective lview of a portion of the apparatus employed 'for automatically controlling. the tain parts of the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, 10 represents an elongated vertical inclosure, constructed of brick or vother suitable material which is f an eliicient non-conductor of'heat, `such inclosure constituting a ue or'sliaftup and through which is circulated .heated air' or other gas for drying the grain supported withinthe iiue.. At the top of the inclosuref l thereis positioned, adjacent each wall of thcv fiue', a trough or hopper 11 for receiving the grain which is to be dried, said trough or Vhopper converging toward the bottom and Application filed ,June i0, 191s. serial No. 239,149.

he particular features by whichV Ain the descrip.-r

position of cerv iSpec'cat'ion'of Letterslatent. Patgnted 13,1921;

tendingfalong the length of the trough. Said opening 12 is normally closed by a. suitableV gateor valve 13 which may,

lP".Arif-:1W O ICE I i Y having at its lower end an Opening 12- ex i opened or closed' to control ytheflow of grain v out of the hopper;V

Centrallyv located .0n I opposite walls'foff the flue and rigidly'secured thereto is-a very tically vextending member 1 4, in .which members114 there are'mounted a series of vertically spaced stationary rods '15. 'The A' Y rods 15 constitute pivots for the tilting frames or trays 16, said Vtrays 16 being capable of oscillatory movement upon said? pivot rods 15 so that they may be inclined"r atl a comparatively steep angle in either i direction. Each of the said trays-16 com# prises a Vscreen 17, the side guards 18extending along the sides of the screen .17 and a spider or under-frame 19 constructed of screen andframe 16v asa whole. Thelde-v pendingflugs 20, secured to and formingv integral parts of the saidframe 16,"form thev lightf strong material Vfor supporting'the l 5 screenand'formaintaining the shape ofthe pivotal mounting's upon which the 16 may be oscillated upon the stationary pivot rods 15,.v l

The various trays 16v are caused to'ltilt or" oscillate in unison by means of a 'set offourflink members 21 extending vertically at the* cornersl of the tilting frames 16v andV pivotedv theretoby fineans of studs 231on the ends fof the small brackets 23a secured'y tothe outer 'corners of the trays Vand tierods122', said studs 23 lbeing"journa'led in;v

apertures drilled lin thevertical link mem? 'To the upper ends o f thefsaid link 'mem-` bers-,211- preferablyY attach the respective ends ofa chain or cord 24, there being preferably a pairjo'f saidcords or chains for each side ofthe aperture. lhesaid chains 24 pass overa pairofsuitable sprockets Aor pulleys 25 keyedto the ends of a horizontal Y shaft 26,V the extremities of which are suitably journaled in oppositeside' wallsofthe.

iiicl'osure` 410'.;l ySaid shaft 26 may be rotated or .oscillated by any suitable mecha-f nis'm; for instance, I have illustrated a'worm gear 27 ,keyed tothe said shaft, said worm A gear being actuated by a WormA 28 'keyedtoj ahorizontalL shaft 29 rotatably mounted 4iu suitablexed supports'ias at'SO, andjoperated,

by means' of la crank or byi power.

y Specialmeans areprovided for Vprevent-A lio` ,ing the grain or other material from running off the ends of the screens when they aretilted or oscillated. Such means comprise a pair of rectangular end doors or gates 31 extending across the inclosure the entire width of the trays 16 and extending vertically a suilicient distance tov serve theY Said doors-31 areY entire bank of trays. movably supported upon the link members 21, previously referred to, and move as a` unit therewith when the apparatus is oscillated. Vhile the device is being oscillated to treat the grain, the innerysurfaces ofv said doors 31 are in'engagement with the member 21. It will be readily understood that by swinging the said links 35 upon the vertical members 21, the gates 31 may be caused to move inwardly until the inner surfaces of the said lgates, 31 engage the horizontal lips or edges of the screens 17. Hence, it will be apparent that when the links 35 have been moved into the proper position, the gates 31 effectively prevent Vpassage of material off the ends of the screens when the latter are tilted. The gate members 31 have the additional function of serving as chutes for lling the trays with the untreated'material; and in this connec-A tion, reference may be had to Fig. 1 which shows the apparatus in condition for filling with grain. The particular gate member 31 which then occupies thev up positionis moved outwardly, as shown, so as to leave a space between its inner surface and the upper horizontal edges of the tilting trays, there being thus provided a narrow A vertically Y being filled, the'bottom en d of the chuteformed by moving the gate member out-J extending passageway through which grain may be fed in order to charge the trays. It will be observed that in order to prevent grain from passing out sidewi'se at the corners of the screens, each ofthe said gate members 31 is flanged at each side, as shown The gate members 31 are normally heldl Vin engagement with the front and rear edges of the trays or screens 17 by means of a plurality of tension springs 38, the ends ofwhich are connected respectively to the gate membersy 31 and the vertical'link members;21. During the time that the trays are ber 39 which comprises a plate extendin along the edge of the bottom screen 17 an having itsupperend pivoted on a pivot The hand-lever 43 for controllingthegate valve 41 has its lower end pivoted on a pin 44 mounted ina small bracket 45 secured to the lower end of the chute or gate member 31. Said lever intermediate its ends is slotted, as shown vat 45, in order to receive a pin 46 on the end of a small lug or bracket 47 secured to the outside of the gateV valve 39. VhenV itis desired to open the gate:

member 31 in order to lallowfthe grain t0 run out into the hopper or receiving trough 48, the hand lever 43 is pulled outwardly so as to simultaneously cause the gate member 31 to swing outwardly upon the pivotal arms 35 while at the same time the gate valve 39 is also moved into vertical position in line with the allow the grain to fall .into the hopper 48.

gate member 31 *so as toV After the treatedA grain has been dis' charged, and when it is desired to re-fill the trays, the gate memberV 31 is moved outwardly while leavingfthe gate valve 39 in the position shown in F ig. 1. In orderto effect such opening movement of the gatel member 31 while leaving the said gate valve 39 closed, the gate member 31 is moved by means other than `the handle 43.V For vin-v j stance, on one` of the swingingl arms-or links 35 I may usea bell crank arm 49, the outer end of which is apertured to receive the cord or chain 50, hanging down in a convenient position to be pulled byhand when the trays.

are to be filled; or, if desired, I may actuate the said bell crank V49 through a fixed pivoted roller 51 by simply increasing the amplitude 'of the normal up and down oscil-V latory movement of the link member 21,VV

thereby causing the saidbell crankV 49 to strike the said roller 51 and move the gate member 31 outwardly, dueto the increased upward'movement of the device. If` desired, in place of the springs 38 and 41 for holding closed the gate members 31 and the gate valve 39, any suitable form of 'hand catch-'or locking device may be employed. In order to cause heated air for drying purposes to pass up throughthe flue or-inclosure, I may employ any form of heatingv device, such as a hot air furnace or heater fragmentarily indicated at 52V in Fig.' 1; and, 1n order to prevent excessive heating y of the lower tray-full of grain, the bottom tray 16 may be equipped with a suitable protective apron, as shown at 53. i Y

The device, as shown, may be Vemployed for many purposes; for instance, it may be used to germinate various grains in order to render them better fitted for certain further treatment or use it may be used for removing the moisture from many different kinds of grains so as to render them less liable to spoil when stored; and also, many varieties ofvegetables and fruits may be dried or evaporatedin the apparatus, the said vegetables or fruits being of course suitably cut, chopped up, or comminuted, to enable them to be fed into or out of the apparatus.

It will also be apparentV that the apparatus may be employed for bleaching purposes' in addition to theV uses which have been heretofore enumerated. If desired at any time, the grain or other material can be passed direct-ly through the apparatus by suitably tilting the trays and manipulating the valves or gates which control the flow or'l material. l

In practice, the apparatus will be found to be extremely rapid, economic, and elii-l cient, and may be operated with a minimum of labor and other expense.

The described details of the apparatusv Vmay of course be modiiied considerably without sacrifice of eiiiciency and without departing from 'the spirit of the invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the appended claims.

I claiml. The combination of a screen, the upper surface of which. is arranged toireceiveV moisture-bearing material, means for tilting said screen, and movable guard means hingedly connected with the outer edge of said screen for preventing materiall from running oit the lower end of said. screen when the latter is tilted.

2. The combination of a plurality of trays vertically spaced and superposed one above the other, pivotal means for causing said trays to tilt in unison about horizontal axes intermediate their ends, and means common to a. plurality of trays for preventing material from running oil' the lower lends of said trays when the latter are tilted.

3. The combination of a plurality of substantially rectangularV trays vertically spaced apart and superposed one above the other and provided with screens upon which the Vmaterial may be placed for treatment, said trays being pivoted to swing inunison substantially about horizontal axes, intermediate the lengths of said trays, andgates arranged to close the edges of said trays remote from and parallel with the pivotal axes.

4. The combination cfa pluralityv of' v5. The combinationA of' a plurality of trays vertically spaced and superposed one above the other, said trays being kmounted to tilt in unison, and a gate member `adapted to prevent material from running oiirz the edges of said trays and adapted to be moved away from the ends of said trays to constitute means for guiding material into said trays. Y I

6. The combination of a plurality oftrays vertically spaced and superposed one above the other, said trays being mounted to tilt in unison, and a gatemember adapted to prevent materialfrom running off the ends of the said trays and adapted 'to be moved away from the ends of said trays to constitute means for guiding material into saidv trays, the arrangement including means at the lower end of lsaid gate member :forI preventing rpassage of'material below the bot-v tom tray, but operable tov passage when desired.

7. In a device of theclass described, the

combination of a plurality of superposed trays pivotally mounted to oscillate'to an inclined position, a chute at one end of and communicating with eachv of the trays forv supplying material thereto,V and a chute at the other end of `and adapted to receive the discharge from each of the trays.V

8. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a plurality of superposed trays pivotally, mounted to oscillate to an inclined position, and a pair of chutes each permit such embracing corresponding ends of the trays, Y

andadjustable therefroml for feeding material onto the traysand discharging material therefrom'.

9. In a deviceof the class described, the combination of a flue, .a plurality of superposed trays pivotallymounted inthe said f l' Vilue to oscillate collectively to an inclined position, and meansl atl the exterior ofthe flue for adjusting' the inclination of the trays therein.

wrLLiAivr Rors'rnn i 

